Legacy
by Sun Wu K0ng
Summary: This story is a basic exploration of what would have happened had Ichigo grown up with his mom instead of his dad. That's essentially it.


**Quick disclaimer: I do not own either the anime or the manga. All rights belong to the creators of Bleach. That said, I still do have some access to both of the original. I do not plan to include or draw from either of the filler arcs from the anime, but if you spot any mistakes or incorrect references, simply cite the chapter in the manga or episode in the anime it comes from and I can go check for myself.**

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Ch. 1

Karakura Town wasn't always quiet at night, making this occurrence an exception. Such tranquil silence seemed almost… ethereal, completely vacant of haunting shrieks and ghoulish pleading. The experience defined an average evening for regular people. Kurosaki envied them, longing for such pure normality. He himself wished for the impossible - a world where he wouldn't see and hear what others couldn't. Such desire…it soured his mood immensely.

Karakura Town wasn't always quiet at night. Waiting till tomorrow risked changing such ideal conditions. More trouble usually drew too much attention. As it was, Mother habitually checked his room to ensure his genuine slumber, usually around 9:00 PM. While in the past she'd missed the mark by a minute or two, tonight presented a far more extreme example. He quickly peeked at the clock again - Short sat between 9 and 10 while Long inched towards 6. She still hadn't come yet, a fact that drew out that gnawing feeling of fear and doubt.

Kurosaki buried the apprehension thoroughly, slipping from his bed and toeing his way over to the closet without a sound. She'd caught him the first time, just as he prepared to leave, because he'd propped his bag and zanpakuto against the wall next to the door. Hiding both in the closet this time wasn't incredibly sneaky or clever but anything was better than nothing. He also didn't have enough money to purchase and conceal a safe in the bedroom without her eventually finding out. The window made the most sense as his best method of escape - the closed door would dampen any squeaks and scrapes when he opened the shutter. This time, he'd have to change that approach too. Survival and speed were key to going undetected and Mother had gifted him a tool that would aide his journey extensively.

Process had become routine - grip the knob, swiftly open the door, check all hiding places (Mother moved the rings to the bedroom), cover the safe's speakers with a damp towel, test the codes - and he promptly collected his prize, secured in his room well before 9:40 PM. He really had done this too many times. Mother confiscated the jewelry after catching him last time. They didn't look like much - just a set of metallic talons clutching his fingers - but the other world proved that power could reside just about anywhere.

He moved to the bed, laying down and reapplying the covers. Experience led to ease - ditch the gigai, grab his stuff, jerk the skylight quickly to kill the squeak, prop up the frame with a book - and he landed without rustling a single blade of grass. He'd already flash-stepped almost two miles away before the first minute passed. Two miles away, he didn't see his bedroom door open.

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"And you believe that by not warning the Soul Society this time, you will have convinced him to abandon the effort?"

_**~"I'd rather the Seireitei lay its secrets bare. Once he sees that you have nothing to offer, he will stop making the journey."~**_ Urahara covered the receiver before sighing and resisted the urge to drag a hand down his face. _Yes, I'm sure they're fine with living children snooping around their files. _Outside, a sudden surge of wind swept the outer gate back into place, the latch catching rigidly.

"Not warning the Gotei 13 could lead to catastrophe. Remember the first time you crossed the Dangai? Even with my help and an extraordinary amount of luck on your side, death still clung to your shadows. Not to mention you had an ex-Gotei 13 captain in your company."

"_**You did not doubt my husband's strength or will then, nor mine. Do you doubt my son's now?"**_

"Not at all. I worry more for his resolve." One of the floorboards outside his door creaked abruptly, followed quickly by a series of rapid pitter-patter vanishing further into his home. "I simply don't believe your proposal will produce lasting effects." _Your family just about defines stubborn pride to a fault._

_**~"At this point, anything is better than nothing. Please use everything you can to help him."~**_

"I'm already helping him by not warning the Soul Society. Why should-"

_**~"Because of what I've done, because of what my husband has done for the world, because he's my son…"~**_

…

_**~"You've been heckling me for a chance to study the pins."~**_ Urahara couldn't help but smile in spite of his guilt-tripping.

"Your word?"

_**~"I've yet to lie to you."~**_ _Yet. How reassuring._

"Alright, I'll make sure he gets back to you, alive and in one piece."

_**~"Thank you. Good night."~**_

"Good night." He quickly exited the room with Benihime, his zanpakuto, and immediately froze. The door slid shut behind him silently. When it came to people with secrets to hide, no one quite fit that bill like he did. Benihime, while perhaps not the most unique katana, held more surprises than one would think. Both exemplified lethal danger concealed behind elaborate facades - her a very powerful weapon concealed within a cane, him a skilled shinigami posing as an old shopkeeper. People who specialized in hiding things knew best how to find hidden things. Right then and there, the most subtle and gentle gust barely brushed the tip of his hat.

Urahara struck without warning, thrusting the walking stick over his head before yanking it forward. Snagged by the armpit, the intruder toppled before him, spewing curses into the floorboards. "Tut, tut. You already tried this before."

"I'd hoped enough time passed since the last try." The trespasser's gaze darted like lightning, glancing at both of their weapons before locking onto his eyes. "And you locked the basement." Urahara smiled mockingly, shifting one foot back with both hands down. The kid had tried his luck in the past. He could almost see the scenario playing out in the younger soul reaper's head until finally, the boy pried his fingers off his sword and let out a resigned sigh. "I'm going."

"Sure thing. Just walk out the door and sneak around my house again without permission. Come on, we've danced this out almost a hundred times now. " Kurosaki crossed his arms, left hand tucked while right palm dug at his bicep. Silver glinted off the central digits. "Of course, you could earn that consent by field testing-"

"Right. Fine." The boy nodded, eyes closed, a hand already outstretched. "Let's get this over with."

"It's downstairs." He moved past the younger shinigami, who followed with a still-open palm. He definitely didn't spite that gesture by making the boy wait another ten minutes while he "rifled" through the storage room. "Ah, yes! Here we go." Tossing it over, he instantly wished he had recorded the boy's reaction: slack-jawed while fishing for the right words, the kid's head tilted sideways, and brow furrowed to the point of becoming a singular stripe of hair. Pure meme face material - he could have made millions overnight.

"It… It's a… piece of sh*t. A sagging turd." Kurosaki turned the object over, even going so far as to sniff. "A wrinkled pitch-black banana… What, am I supposed to eat this thing? Can I even eat it?!"

The shopkeeper shrugged. "Sure, if you'd like to spend the night in a water closet. That's a Kage Basjoo, my personal design. This baby's the best-option stealth prototype on the market."

"Best-option and prototype don't belong in the same sentence."

"Brat." Under normal circumstances, Urahara would have smacked him upside the head for that kind of comment. Instead, he snatched the weapon back, unable to hide the smug grin when the boy ducked. "Four sides to the peel. Pull one off, slap it to a surface, and you'll be able to pass straight through. Doors, walls, and ceilings all apply."

"And the inside?"

"Crush it. As long as you're in shadow, you'll be completely invisible if you don't move."

Revelation dawned on the face of the younger soul reaper. "And with a body made from Reishi-"

"You can theoretically sustain this ability indefinitely." Kurosaki nodded, slipping the tool inside the fold of his shihakusho(uniform). "Alright, I think that's it. The gate's in the same place-"

The ground between them erupted without warning, violent winds kicking up sand in every direction. The colossal spiritual pressure Kisuke felt before shot off to the side and after the dust settled, he stood alone in the chamber in front of a glowing upright rectangle of obsidian. A quick check revealed several cracks and fractures in the stone.

"Damn kid almost broke the door on his way out."

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Nine days since his last run - that meant the cleaner charged through the day prior. Even as he flash-stepped, crossing the Dangai still felt slow. Purple sludge oozed from behind, glopping towards his feet. Each step seemed to rile up the substance even more. Walls of the disgusting crap gradually closed in from both sides and several slimey limbs stretched towards him. Inevitably, something snagged - a piece of his sleeve somehow firmly clenched in a fist that barely had any form - and Kurosaki brought one of the rings to his lips.

"Koten Zanshun. Go." The first talon broke off, briefly flashing before a tiny black humanoid with wings replaced it.

"What in the-? Where am I?" The imp turned to face him. "You again! What-"

"Koten Zanshun." Kurosaki held out his arm, displaying the accumulating blob of impending damnation on the cloth. Up ahead, he could see the end of the Dangai, quite literally a bright light at the end of the tunnel. "Go." The imp hesitated, glaring with all the menace of an angry rat, and then complied, streaking into the substance with the speed of a bullet. The sludge burst around the point of impact, freeing the soul reaper to leap through the gateway...

And immediately rocket towards the ground at Mach 1. _Alright. I've done this plenty of times before, stuck the landing for most of those. This should go smoothly._

"SANTEN KESH-" *BOOOOOOM!*

… _Or faceplant into the grass. That works._

"Alright, young man. You will explain-"

"Nothing at all." Kurosaki rose and dusted himself off. Turning to the black imp, he extended the incomplete ring towards the creature. "I no longer require your service. Return to your post."

"No, WAIT-" Drawn to the ring, the shrieking imp resumed the talon's shape.

The soul reaper rose into familiar surroundings - a dirt road lined with rotting ancient shacks. No one even bothered with a second glance at his arrival, a few even waving before continuing on with their business. He really had done this too many times. In front of him, dirt road instantly yielded to a grid of platinum tiles. The quality of buildings abruptly shifted from rack shacks to shining one-floor mansions. _The Seireitei Boundary. Subtle as ever._ The young shinigami glanced upwards, unable to perceive yet knowing the next obstacle to come. _Field Test take one. Hope this thing doesn't malfunction like your last one, frickin ninja hobo._ No one tried to stop him as he charged the line. No one had to.

Thunder roared from no clear point in a blue sky, which tore itself in two. Massive stone walls plummeted consecutively, perfectly blocking off every inch of that line in the dirt, which itself billowed into enormous blinding clouds. Standing tall at over thirty meters and at least five meters thick, the physical Seireitei Boundary should have drawn shock and awe from the common folk in their tiny little houses. Instead, the titanic display drew as much shock from the surrounding populous as a fifteen-year-old soul reaper touching down at Mach 1. Parts of the dust began to give way to great gusts of wind in a pattern that hinted at the deep breaths of a great beast. A dark form surged, wildly swinging a pair of gargantuan axes.

"For Heaven's sake, you stupid kid! Do you ever think about **not** coming here? And why always my gate?" A giant sheet of metal plowed through the dust before the behemoth soul reaper, Jidanbo. "You do realize there are other directions than West, right?" His roars were met with utter silence. Gradually, the dust cleared out, revealing no other soul reaper in sight.

"Hey, kid. The Hell are you?" Jidanbo, ever the intelligent warrior he was, turned a full 360 ̊ and checked under his sandals. Calling out to a farmer passing by, his whisper still carried the volume of a fog horn. "Hey, Okimi-san. Was that strawberry kid here?"

"Think so. Saw him a few minutes ago." Neither of them noticed a small black shape slowly peel off the wall and gently drift to the ground.

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**This took way too long. As I stated in the brief description of this story, I'm just exploring what it would have been like if Ichigo had grown up with his mom instead of his dad. I'm asking for the same guidelines of criticism:**

**1) No love**

**2) No hate**

**3) No personal ideas (keep those to yourself and then make use of them)**

**4) Mention both what works and what doesn't**


End file.
